Tell Washington: No More Bailouts, Fix the System!

Current bailout schemes have forced the vast majority of taxpayers who were honest and prudent to bankroll firms on Wall Street that made bad business decisions. Furthermore, they do nothing to address the root causes of today's market difficulties. The long-term effects of this fiasco, including inflation, a weaker dollar, and an even more precarious federal balance sheet, are almost certain to outweigh any shallow short-term stabilization of moneyed interests who have been twisting arms on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Congress helped to create this debacle with the Community Reinvestment Act, poor tax policies, hastily designed mark-to-market regulations, and spectacular negligence with regard to the systemic risks posed by the government-sponsored housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rather than addressing those core problems, Washington has snatched $700 billion from the pockets of hard-working Americans (along with hundreds of billions more for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and investment banks). Our "leaders" say most of this money will eventually be recouped by the Treasury, but many of them are the very same people who assured us that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in fine shape!

Congress apparently decided to listen to a few political heavy-hitters in the financial community about the need to shovel boatloads of taxpayer money into their faltering businesses, rather than listening to their constituents who opposed this giveaway almost unanimously.